Our Grad Dip in Legal Practice

Practical Legal Training: Our Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice

The Leo Cussen Practical Legal Training (PLT) program is designed for JD and LLB graduates seeking admission to the legal profession as an Australian Lawyer. Graduates of our PLT course are awarded a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GDLP).

Completion of Practical Legal Training is a prerequisite for admission to the Australian legal profession.

With over 40 years of experience in the delivery of legal training, Leo Cussen Centre for Law is recognised by the legal profession as a centre of excellence in legal education.

Book a chat with us!

We would love to talk with you! If you would like to know more about the course or discuss your personal situation, please give us a call on 1300 039 031 or email enrolment@leocussen.edu.au.

We’ll book a time for you to talk with one of our team about how our PLT program can set you up for career success.

How to Enrol

To enrol in the Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at Leo Cussen, please complete your enrolment form online via our Enrol Now page. If you need assistance or would like to talk to someone about the course, please give us a call on 1300 039 031 or email enrolment@leocussen.edu.au and we’d love to help you!

Eligibility

Academic:

You are eligible to commence the Practical Legal Training Course (PLT) if you have completed all the requirements of the LLB or JD from an Australian approved law school.

You may enrol in the course while you are completing your final law degree subjects. Enrolment is conditional on you providing evidence that you have completed the requirements of the degree.

A completing law student who has a summer school subject or a supplementary exam where the results will not be available until after the course commences is eligible to apply and to commence.

In Victoria, a law student who at commencement of the course has one or two elective subjects outstanding may be eligible to commence the course. If you are in this position you may enrol. However, you must also make a Concurrent Study Application to the Victorian Legal Admissions Board for approval to commence PLT before completion of your law degree.

Evidence of approval must be provided to Leo Cussen before the commencement of the Practical Legal Training Course. If you wish to discuss your particular situation, please contact the PLT Co-ordinator, Michelle O’Connor at pltadmin@leocussen.edu.au.

Residency:

You must have a residency status permitting you to reside and study in Australia.

Overseas Students on student visas may only be eligible to apply for the Onsite course. Overseas Students on other forms of visa may be eligible to apply for the Online course subject to the conditions of their visa. See International/Overseas Applicants, Course Fees and Selection Criteria and Procedures.

All applicants: please note that as (a) the course amounts to a single unit of study and (b) entrants to the legal profession require currency in legal practice, prior course credit (or Recognition of Prior Learning) is not typically granted.

If you are an Overseas Qualified or Requalifying Lawyer/Legal Practitioner seeking admission, you must first seek guidance/approval from the relevant state admitting authority before applying to the Leo Cussen Practical Legal Training Course.

We aim to confirm your enrolment within 3 business days of receipt of your completed form.

Confirmation of enrolment is subject to:

The provision of outstanding documentation (refer Application Form); and

Part Tuition payment of $500 OR Completed Request for FEE-HELP Assistance form

If your preferred course is full, then you will be placed on the Wait List and offered a place in an alternative course.

Failed University Subjects after Enrolling

If you have enrolled and subsequently fail a subject in your law degree then your place in the course is generally forfeited. You will receive a refund of any part tuition payments they have already made. Alternatively we can defer your place to a later course.

Please note that the applicant will generally be subject to the our withdrawal or deferral fee. However, this policy may be waived by the Director PLT if it is clear that the applicant has promptly notified the Leo Cussen of their situation and their initial enrolment objectively appears to have been made in good faith.

NOTE: An applicant may be permitted to continue in the PLT while completing the final law degree subject. Applicants should contact the Director PLT to discuss this option.

A summary of the Deferral component of the policy is as follows: The applicant must:

be an ‘eligible deferee’ by having been offered a place in the Centre’s PLT and;

demonstrate compassionate or compelling circumstances (e.g. illness where a medical certificate states that the eligible deferee/trainee is unable to attend classes, family, travel, economic issues or other matters) and;

submit a written Deferral Application to the Director PLT.

A Deferral Application must be in writing and addressed to the Director PLT. It may be emailed to: pltadmin@leocussen.edu.au. Applications will be considered by the Director PLT, who will respond promptly.

Applicants for Deferral should note that tuition fees may increase from year to year and they will be liable to pay the fee applicable at the time of enrolment.

As the entire Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (Practical Legal Training) is a single unit Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL) completed within twenty-one weeks (full time) plus professional placement, it is not possible to transfer into the PLT from another Registered Provider once the course has commenced. Nor is it possible to transfer out of the PLT with any relevant EFTSL completion before completion of the course.

The entire PLT comprises a single unit EFTSL because the PLT is a course that prepares law graduates for admission to the legal profession and eligibility for ‘admission’ is an indissoluble concept. A lawyer is either admitted to the legal profession or not based on their satisfactory completion of the entire complement of Practical Legal Training under the Legal Profession Uniform Admission Rules 2015.

Living Allowances (Austudy and Youth): the PLT is a full-time course

Commonwealth tertiary education assistance in the form of payment of means-tested living allowances is normally available to full time PLT students on the same basis as to undergraduates.

Part-Time Work or Study

Other study or work is ok, as long as it does not interfere with the recommended time commitment for each course. See Course Structure for more details.

Please contact the Director PLT to discuss any concerns you may have.

BYO Device

Leo Cussen recommends students bring and use their own laptop computers. A wireless network operates within the training areas, giving access to the intranet and online learning environment.

If you are unable to access your own computer, please contact us to discuss how we may assist you.

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We can then provide you with updates on your specific areas of interest whether it be CPD, PLT, our Practice Management Course (PMC) or all of our course offerings. We also encourage our alumni to sign up so that we can stay in touch with you!